Deck 11: Social Class in the United States

Question 1

The wealth of rich people is not only greater, but more of it is in the form of investments that typically increase in value and generate income.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The working class is sometimes called the "lower-middle class."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

When people talk about realizing the American dream, they generally mean making enough money to join the ranks of the upper-upper class.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In general, white-collar occupations have more prestige than blue-collar occupations.

Question 5

Because education is a right in the United States, there is very little inequality in schooling.

Question 6

In the United States, there are more people in the upper class than in the lower class.

Question 7

In 2009, median family income in the United States was $60,088.

Question 8

Hispanic families, on average, lag behind non-Hispanic white families in both income and wealth.

Question 9

In the United States, about 44 million people are officially counted among the poor.

Question 10

Today, on average, African American families have about the same income and wealth as white families.

Question 11

In the United States, white people are more likely to own their own homes than African Americans.

Question 12

The richest 20 percent of U.S.families earn 48 percent of all income, while the bottom 20 percent earn only about 4 percent.

Question 13

In the United States, wealth is distributed more equally than income.

Question 14

Jobs typically performed by women carry more prestige than those typically performed by men.

Question 15

U.S.society does not have social stratification.

Question 16

About 40 percent of U.S.families have little or no wealth.

Question 17

Intergenerational mobility refers to changes in social position within an individual's lifetime.

Question 18

As surprising as it may seem, in the United States, poor people typically have better health than rich people.

Question 19

People in the lower-upper class are sometimes said to have "old money."

Question 20

The average family's wealth in the United States is a number greater than the average family's income.

Question 21

The expansion of the global economy has helped create more high-paying jobs in manufacturing in the United States.

Question 22

Societal factors that contribute to homelessness include low wages and a lack of low-income housing.

Question 23

In the United States, Asians and Pacific Islanders have the lowest poverty rate-even lower than non-Hispanic whites.

Question 24

Two-thirds of all poor people in the United States are African Americans.

Question 25

About 5 million people are homeless in the United States for some portion of a given year.

Question 26

The globalization of the economy has increased the earnings of highly educated people who specialize in law, finance, marketing, and computer technology.

Question 27

Which of the following concepts refers to earnings from work or any investments?

A)income
B)personal property
C)wealth
D)power

Question 28

Many people in this country think of the United States as a more-or-less "middle-class" society because

A)we have no history of nobility, as in Europe.
B)U.S.culture celebrates individual effort.
C)most people interact with others in similar social standing.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 29

A majority of children born in all wealth quintiles in the United States remain in the same quintile as adults.

Question 30

The age category of the U.S.population most likely to be poor is children and young adults under age twenty-four.

Question 31

In the United States, rural areas have a higher poverty rate than central cities.

Question 32

In 2009, for the first time, all poor families in the United States were headed by women.

Question 33

In recent decades, William Julius Wilson claims, many central cities no longer have enough jobs to support the families who live there.

Question 34

In 2009, the median income for U.S.families was

A)$16,099.
B)$36,077.
C)$60,088.
D)$76,055.

Question 35

Recent welfare reform has greatly reduced the poverty rate in the United States.

Question 36

Based on statistics in the textbook, it is correct to say that the richest 20 percent of the population earn about _____ times as much as the poorest 20 percent.

A)two
B)twelve
C)fifty
D)one hundred

Question 37

In most poor families in the United States, no family member has a full-time job.

Question 38

In the wake of the recession that began in 2007, the majority of U.S.adults say that their belief that their family can achieve the American dream has declined.

Question 39

Since 1980 in the United States, the most dramatic gains in income have been made by the richest people.

Question 40

People who marry and stay married accumulate only half as much wealth as people who remain single.

Question 41

In the United States, the median wealth of minority families is about _____ of the median wealth of non-Hispanic white families.

A)1.6 percent
B)16 percent
C)66 percent
D)96 percent

Question 42

Working class people might also be described as _____.

A)lower-middle class
B)lower-upper class
C)lower-class
D)upper-middle class

Question 43

About what percentage of all U.S.families have little or no wealth?

A)10 percent
B)40 percent
C)70 percent
D)90 percent

Question 44

Today, the wealth of the average U.S.family is about

A)$30,000.
B)$50,000.
C)$120,000.
D)$200,000.

Question 45

A good example of a person in the upper-upper class is

A)Nicole Polizzi (Snooki on Jersey Shore)
B)Elizabeth II, the queen of England.
C)anyone who is part of the "working rich."
D)All of these are correct.

Question 46

In the United States, the median income for African American families is about _____ as much as that for a non-Hispanic, white family.

A)36 percent
B)57 percent
C)76 percent
D)96 percent

Question 47

Being in the upper-upper class is usually the result of _____; being in the lower-upper class is more a matter of _____.

A)birth; achievement
B)business success; birth
C)gender; birth
D)high-income; low-income

Question 48

Roughly 40 to 45 percent of the U.S.population falls within the

A)upper class.
B)middle class.
C)lower class.
D)poor.

Question 49

About _____ of the richest people in the United States gained at least some of their fortune from inheritance.

A)one-eighth
B)one-fourth
C)one-third
D)two-thirds

Question 50

About what share of U.S.adults over the age of twenty-five are college graduates?

A)10 percent
B)30 percent
C)45 percent
D)70 percent

Question 51

The richest 5 percent of U.S.families own about what percentage of privately owned property?

A)2 percent
B)12 percent
C)32 percent
D)62 percent

Question 52

If you followed the lead of Max Weber, you would think of social stratification in terms of

A)a multidimensional status hierarchy.
B)two major social classes.
C)a middle-class society.
D)six different social classes.

Question 53

Which of the following class levels contains the least amount of racial and ethnic diversity?

A)the upper-upper class
B)the middle class
C)the working class
D)All class levels have the same level of racial and ethnic diversity.

Question 54

Recent data from the U.S.government shows that median annual income for non-Hispanic, white families was about $170,400.For minority families, including African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics, the median figure was

A)$87,409.
B)$48,409.
C)$27,800.
D)$7,409.

Question 55

If you were looking for data supporting the claim that U.S.society is very stratified, you would make the strongest case by pointing to which of the following factors?

A)occupational prestige
B)education
C)income
D)wealth

Question 56

The total amount of financial assets, minus any debts, is referred to as

A)income.
B)personal property.
C)wealth.
D)power.

Question 57

The family of actor Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett Smith would best be described as

A)working class.
B)middle class.
C)"old money."
D)lower-upper class.

Question 58

Based on what you know about occupational prestige, which of the following statements is correct?

A)Most of the highest-ranked occupations in the United States are dominated by women.
B)Occupational rankings are similar in all high-income nations.
C)White-collar work and blue-collar work have about the same social prestige.
D)In the United States, occupation has little to do with social standing.

Question 59

Which of the following factors affects social position in the United States?

A)the family a person is born into
B)a person's race
C)a person's gender
D)All of these are correct.

Question 60

The wealthiest 1 percent of U.S.families

A)25 percent
B)35 percent
C)65 percent
D)85 percent

Question 61

According to Lisa Keister's research, which of the following statements is correct?

A)Social mobility has never existed in the United States.
B)Social mobility is the same for people at all levels of the wealth hierarchy.
C)Social mobility is lowest for people in the middle of the wealth hierarchy.
D)Social mobility is lowest for people at the top and the bottom of the wealth hierarchy.

Question 62

People of low social position are more liberal on _____ issues and more conservative on _____ issues.

A)social; economic
B)economic; social
C)very few; almost all
D)almost all; almost no

Question 63

Relative poverty

A)is found everywhere.
B)is life threatening.
C)is not found in the United States.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 64

In terms of absolute numbers, most poor people in the United States are

A)African American.
B)Asian American.
C)Hispanic.
D)non-Hispanic whites.

Question 65

In the United States, people of _____ are most likely to vote.

A)low social position
B)high social position
C)average social position
D)Social position has nothing to do with how likely people are to vote.

Question 66

Which of the following factors tends to raise your social standing?

A)divorce
B)leave school to get a job
C)marry and stay married
D)All of these are correct.

Question 67

In 2009, about what share of the U.S.population was officially counted as poor?

A)4.3 percent
B)14.3 percent
C)54.3 percent (REMEMBER;
D)34.3 percent

Question 68

The concept of "intergenerational social mobility" refers to change in social position

A)over a person's lifetime
B)when moving from one type of job to another.
C)in a downward direction.
D)comparing children to their parents.

Question 69

Which of the following concepts refers to change in social position during a person's lifetime?

A)intragenerational social mobility
B)intergenerational social mobility
C)structural social mobility
D)horizontal social mobility

Question 70

During the last twenty years, which category of the U.S.population has experienced the largest gains in average income?

A)the lowest-paid 20 percent
B)the middle 20 percent
C)the highest-paid 20 percent
D)All income categories have experienced about the same level of upward social mobility.

Question 71

According to Karl Marx, which class forms the core of the industrial proletariat?

A)the upper-middle class
B)the middle class
C)the upper class
D)the working class

Question 72

The concept "feminization of poverty" refers to the fact that, in the United States

A)more and more women are becoming poor.
B)today's women have fewer legal rights.
C)women make up an increasing percentage of the poor.
D)fewer women now work for income.

Question 73

The concept "conspicuous consumption" refers to

A)buying things that are popular with the most people.
B)buying more than what you need for the moment.
C)the practice of buying things to make a statement about one's social position.
D)acting as if one had a lower social position than is really the case.

Question 74

Which of the following categories of people are most likely to be liberal on social issues

A)rich, highly-educated people
B)average, middle class people
C)less-educated working class people
D)All these categories are equally likely to be liberal on social issues.

Question 75

The highest concentration of high-income people is found

A)in small towns of the Midwest.
B)near large metropolitan areas, especially on the East and West Coasts.
C)in the Southwest.
D)in the deep South.

Question 76

In 2009, the percentage of all poor families in the United States headed by single women was

A)8 percent.
B)28 percent.
C)48 percent.
D)78 percent.

Question 77

In the United States, which age category has the highest poverty rate?

A)children and young adults under twenty four years of age
B)people in their thirties
C)middle-aged persons about forty years of age
D)seniors over sixty five years of age

Question 78

In general, people of low-class position

A)live in less safe and more stressful environments.
B)are less likely to describe their own health as "excellent."
C)live fewer years overall.
D)All of these are correct.

Question 79

In 2009, how many people were counted by the U.S.government as having income below the official poverty line?

A)370,000
B)3 million
C)37 million
D)370 million

Question 80

During the last three decades, the real income of African American families in the United States has

A)gone down a lot.
B)kept pace with the gains made by white people.
C)gone up a lot.
D)changed little.